Christina sets British record with 432 mile race

Christina back in Stornoway following her success at setting a new British Veteran Time Trial record.

More than 100 competitors took to two-wheels for the gruelling Mersey Roads 24 Hour Time Trial around Merseyside but Christina was in imperious and unstoppable as she left her rivals choking on her slipstream with a dominant ride as she set a brand new British record.

“I’m a wee bit tired today,” smiled Christina, “it was a mad weekend and what I’ve been training for all year.

“I’m a bit achey, sore legs, neck and shoulders from being in same position for that length of time.”

Riders set off at one-minute intervals for a continuous 24-loop of time trial circuits around Wrexham. Last year Christina had set a Scottish record and she had hoped to launch a pacey assault on the British record this time round but a late change to the time trial course left her fearing it wouldn’t be possible.

“The day before the event we were told there were unplanned road works so the route had to be changed in part,” she revealed.

“It had been a relatively flat course but the new part then was hilly so we had to climb over 3,500m so that was a bit of a worry and I didn’t think I’d be on for the record but when I went out the hills were OK, I was fine constantly going up and down.”

Christina set off at 1:29 on Saturday and she continued her blistering race pace until 1:29 the following day for an epic race which she admits was a ‘bit bonkers.’

“I had a plan to keep average pace throughout as a lot of girls went off hard but they paid for it later in the night and thy didn’t finish as they went out too hard and were exhausted,” recalled Christina.

“My training was geared to try and keep average pace and it worked. My last couple of hours were actually amongst my fastest ones as I knew at that point I was aiming at 427-miles which would get me the BVTT record so when I knew I was getting that and I had the chance to get beyond that it was the motivation and spur I needed to keep going.”

The British record of 426 miles was obliterated by Mackenzie who clocked in a massive 432 miles to take the record comfortably.

“It was a tough race and cycling through the night isn’t easy either,” she said.

“Through the day you see plenty people but at night just see lights flashing and busy roads. The race itself was textbook and I can’t fault it, no mechanical issues. I’m getting the hang of all this,” she joked.

Christina would like to thank Stirling Bike Club for all their support throughout the event.